Synopsis

Plankton walks to the Chum Bucket stinking with the stench of "failure" as he calls it, and Karen is in a very happy mood. Karen then smells Plankton and gives him a bath, taking off his skin, which is revealed to be his clothes. After he's washed, Plankton learns that it was his and Karen's wedding anniversary, and that Karen got him a copy of the Krabby Patty secret formula for his present, but he can't have it until he gets her a present.

While Plankton is looking for a present, he runs into SpongeBob. He tells SpongeBob the news and SpongeBob yells to all of Bikini Bottom that there's a "Love Emergency". SpongeBob then tells Plankton that his present has to come from the heart, and he suggests a serenade. Plankton then remarks that he can't sing, and SpongeBob takes him to the pineapple and works on Plankton's vocal cords. Plankton sings so high that he breaks the glass Squidward was drinking out of his juice and Sandy's helmet breaks while she was walking then she runs back to her treedome for air. Then, Plankton goes off to serenade Karen.

Plankton walks into the Chum Bucket and starts singing a mariachi-style song, and SpongeBob and Patrick play guitars in the background, wearing Mexican-style clothing and mustaches. Plankton also shakes maracas. Karen cries when it is over, and then she starts uploading the Krabby Patty secret formula. SpongeBob is mad at this, and he unplugs what he thinks is Karen, but was just the coffee maker. Karen finally uploads the formula, but she starts crying again, and she breaks down and shorts out, leaving Plankton still without the secret formula. She then shuts down, and the EMILP (Emergency Mother-In-Law Program) uploads and starts nagging, saying that Karen could have married the ATM, someone with money.

Reception

This episode is number 14 on Tom Kenny Top 20 on iTunes. His description says:

"Kind of obscure, but one of the few episodes to focus on the 'honeymooners-like' marriage of Plankton and Karen (just a microorganism and his computer wife tryin' to get by). I love how Plankton swings between henpecked husband and world-conquering megalomaniac."

Release

Trivia

Karen has a Boston accent while her "mother" has more of a New York/Jersey accent.

Plankton's failures are usually his own fault or another character's. In this episode, it seems to be Karen's fault for crying and short circuiting. It may also briefly be Plankton's fault for forgetting their anniversary.

Karen is upset with Plankton for not having an anniversary gift for her, but in the end, she's the one who fails to give the other an anniversary gift.

This is the last episode in the series to premiere with the Nick splat logo. The next episode, Truth or Square aired after the logo change that has orange text saying NICK, NICKELODEON or NICKTOONS.

SpongeBob was pressing the keys Ctrl, Alt, and Del. Karen is most likely a Windows system.

On the Nickelodeon schedule, this episode is called "Green Anniversary".

On the Complete 6th Season DVD, this was the final episode, but it wasn't the last episode that aired from Season 6.

Cultural References

Karen's "ERROR" screen is a parody of blue screens usually found when a computer is malfunctioning.

Errors

At the beginning of the episode, Karen has the secret formula printed out and in a bottle, but at the end Karen has to print it out.

When SpongeBob attempts to Ctrl-Alt-Del Karen, the keyboard keys are white. When Karen begins to short circuit, they are red.